Approaching crystal’s limit of thermoelectrics by nano-sintering-aid at grain boundaries

Jingdan Lei, Kunpeng Zhao (), Jincheng Liao, Shiqi Yang, Ziming Zhang, Tian-Ran Wei, Pengfei Qiu, Min Zhu (), Lidong Chen and Xun Shi ()
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Jingdan Lei: Shanghai Jiao Tong University
Kunpeng Zhao: Shanghai Jiao Tong University
Jincheng Liao: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Shiqi Yang: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Ziming Zhang: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Tian-Ran Wei: Shanghai Jiao Tong University
Pengfei Qiu: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Min Zhu: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Lidong Chen: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Xun Shi: Shanghai Jiao Tong University

Nature Communications, 2024, vol. 15, issue 1, 1-9

Abstract: Abstract Grain boundary plays a vital role in thermoelectric transports, leading to distinct properties between single crystals and polycrystals. Manipulating the grain boundary to realize good thermoelectric properties in polycrystals similar as those of single crystals is a long-standing task, but it is quite challenging. Herein, we develop a liquid-phase sintering strategy to successfully introduce Mg2Cu nano-sintering-aid into the grain boundaries of Mg3(Bi, Sb)2-based materials. The nano-aid helps to enlarge the average grain size to 23.7 μm and effectively scatter phonons, leading to excellent electrical transports similar as those of single crystals and ultralow lattice thermal conductivity as well as exceptional thermoelectric figure of merit (1.5 at 500 K) and conversion efficiency (7.4% under temperature difference of 207 K). This work provides a simple but effective strategy for the fabrication of high-performance polycrystals for large-scale applications.

Date: 2024
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-50946-1

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